The current state of the art with respect to supporting the ends of rollers in apparatus of the conveyor roller type is, in the main, devoted to the use of hexagonal shaped shafts which extend through the bearing assemblies mounted in each end of the roller and through holes in the adjacent support frames. The bearing assembly shaft opening and support frame holes also have hexagonal cross-sections which serve along with the shaft to prevent rotation of the bearing element, i.e., bearing cone, around which the spherical bearing members are disposed.
Polygonal shaped shafts are simple in design and certainly perform a useful function. There are, however, various drawbacks to the assembly and operation of the completed apparatus using a polygonal shaped axis. One serious problem is the difficulty in aligning the various openings and holes during assembly. The present mode is to manually align the shaft through one bearing assembly mounted at one roller end and the other bearing assembly whch is not mounted, and thereafter position the other bearing assembly within the other roller end. It is evident that such assembly is time consuming and therefore costly. When it is necessary to remove a single roller or part, the entire roller apparatus ordinarily must be disassembled.
IT IS WITH SUCH PROBLEMS IN MIND THAT IT BECAME A PARAMOUNT OBJECTIVE OF THE PRESENT INVENTION TO ELIMINATE THE NEED FOR A HEXAGONAL AXLE AND ITS ATTENDANT DISADVANTAGES WHILE MAINTAINING ITS ADVANTAGES.